Many of us have neatly organized pill containers that contain all our medications and supplements. We often look for ways to streamline our routines. It’s essential to check in with your doctor periodically to review all of your medications and supplements to make sure everything you’re taking works in concert and will help you on your health journey.
Occasionally a supplement will help us for a period of time and not be beneficial if we recover from an illness or if our situation changes. A question we hear often is, “Do I need to take vitamin D in the summer?” And, unfortunately, the answer isn’t a simple yes or no.
Approximately one billion people around the world have a vitamin D deficiency. It’s one of the most common vitamin deficiencies. Vitamin D aids the immune and nervous systems as well as bone health.
Your skin makes vitamin D when exposed to sunlight. During the summer, people are outside and have a lot more exposed skin. But how much vitamin D you get depends on many variables.
“You need to actually be outside in the sun, exposed to the sun,” said registered dietitian Elana Natker. “For people who work indoors and in office jobs, those who wear sunscreen or long sleeves, or even if it’s a cloudy day, it’s possible they’re still not getting the vitamin D they need even if they’re in the sun.”
“While you can get some vitamin D from the sun, it’s highly variable based on location, time of day, skin tone and sunscreen use,” said registered dietitian nutritionist Natalie Rizzo. “It is often not enough to meet optimal levels, especially outside of peak summer months or for those who cover up or apply sunscreen regularly.”
If you are a beach bum for the whole summer, or a master gardener who is in the yard from dawn ‘til dusk, you may be able to skip your vitamin D supplement. But if you aren’t getting significantly more sun than usual, you probably shouldn’t change your routine. If more than 40 percent of your body is directly exposed to sunlight for five to 30 minutes between 10 in the morning and 4 PM, you may be getting enough sunlight to get enough vitamin D. But you have to do that every day.
The safe upper limit of vitamin D a day is 4,000 International Units a day for an adult. For most people, it’s safe to continue taking vitamin D supplements in the summer. If you spend a lot of time outdoors in the summer, you can review your summer routine and diet with your doctor to see if you should make a change.
In the early 1900s, heliotherapy — sunlight therapy — was prescribed to treat rickets and tuberculosis. A “healthy tan” was encouraged by doctors. Now we know the importance of sunscreen and the dangers of skin cancer.
Reviewing your routine is always a great idea. But for most people, vitamin D supplements are still helpful in the summer.
